The lingering warmth of the Yellow Springs Palace had barely dissipated when Xiao Wuchen disappeared from the Throne of Bones. Instead of waiting for the Holy Son to arrive, he chose to strike first, targeting the most vital resource in the northern part of the Eastern Wilderness: the Spirit Pivot Alchemy Institute.
This was the heart of the Righteous Alliance's plundering of mortal fortune and the production of 'Longevity Pills', as well as the place where those so-called immortal envoys who had humiliated him by calling his 'six senses' incomplete and his lifespan insufficient had consumed worthless pills made from the blood and essence of mortals. As the blood-red sun set, a figure with flowing black hair dragged his sword before the towering purple-gold gates of the Spirit Pivot Alchemy Institute.
With each step he took, a dark rift opened in the void behind him. The 'Great Sin Demon Sword' in his hand, forged from extreme hatred and demonic energy, emanated a thirst for blood.
'Halt! This is the sacred ground of the Alchemy Clan. Demons, cease!'
The twelve Golden Core stage immortal envoys guarding the gate attacked simultaneously, their magical treasures converging into a Demon-Suppressing Tower. However, Xiao Wuchen didn't even bat an eyelid, casually swinging his sword.
'Bloodstained Yellow Springs—Instant Prison!'
A jet-black sword aura spanning a thousand feet resembling a crescent moon instantly cleaved the entire purple-gold gate and the twelve immortal envoys in two. Before dissipating, the sword aura travelled along the mountain ridge for thirty thousand miles, carving a bottomless ravine into the Ling Shu Mountain range.
Xiao Wuchen stepped over the shattered golden cores scattered on the ground and entered the depths of the Alchemy Academy.
The immortal envoys, who were usually high and mighty and responsible for judging the aptitude of mortals, now fled in all directions like frightened birds. One white-bearded envoy, who had taken part in the 'Heavenly Gate Judgement', unleashed his natal true fire in a desperate attempt to resist the relentless advance of death.
'Xiao Wuchen! You wretched creature! Even with your demonic powers, you are nothing but a crippled body, unforgivable in the eyes of heaven..."
But before he could finish, the demonic sword pierced his skull. Xiao Wuchen gripped his throat and lifted him into the air. His eyes were filled with mockery.
'If heaven won't accept me, then I will transform into a demon and blot out the sky. As for your so-called "heavenly justice", it doesn't even have the right to beg for mercy under my sword.' Xiao Wuchen's fingers suddenly exerted force, crushing his opponent's soul.
Xiao Wuchen stood on the edge of the cliff, his black hair whipping wildly in the wind. The demonic sword he held, forged from his pent-up hatred, was no longer a physical object, but rather a dark, flowing trail.
'If Heaven will not accept me,' he declared, 'then I will transform into a demon and blot out the sky!'
He pointed to the heavens and, in an instant, the pure sky — once the pride of the righteous sects — was cleaved in two by a terrifying black light. Like a dragon, the sword energy flowed south along the Broken Soul Cliff for thirty thousand miles. Wherever it passed, the protective formations of all the righteous sects shattered with the sound of breaking glass.
This sword strike not only severed mountains, but also the ten-thousand-year monopoly of the righteous sects on 'luck' in the Eastern Wilderness.
[Ding!] [Red Light Mode Enters Peak State]
[Host detected severing the Eastern Wilderness's Qi Dragon Vein; Evil Deeds Value Exceeds System Limit].
["Hatred Conversion" Module Overload: Demonic Essence Reserve – Infinite (Temporary).
Current rank: Eastern Wilderness Calamity Lord.
Xiao Wuchen could feel the immense power within his body, threatening to split his spine. His crippled body had become a vessel for the resentment of the entire wasteland. With every breath he exhaled, a poisonous mist spread for a hundred miles. With every heartbeat, the righteous cultivators within ten miles felt their spiritual energy surge and their meridians threaten to burst. "Demon! Give me back my sect's life!'
Dozens of envoys from immortal sects who had survived the aftermath of the Alchemy Academy formed the 'Twilight of the Gods Formation', intending to perish alongside Xiao Wuchen at the Soul-Severing Cliff. They burned their lifespans, transforming into countless golden fireballs that plummeted into the sky.
Xiao Wuchen didn't even glance down at them, simply raising his pale hand and gently clenching his fingers.
'Shatter.'
A pitch-black demonic hand appeared out of thin air in the void, obscuring the sky. It seemed to be crushing a swarm of ants, squeezing the so-called elite immortals to death in mid-air. Golden immortal blood rained down, but within three feet of Xiao Wuchen, it evaporated instantly without a trace.
Xiao Wuchen held his longsword upside down and carved a final sword mark into the precipice of Broken Soul Cliff.
This mark was imbued with demonic energy capable of corroding everything and formed a massive array — an invitation to the entire righteous path of the Eastern Wilderness and also a tombstone for the legendary 'Perfect Saint Son'.
'I am here.' Xiao Wuchen's voice wasn't loud, but aided by his sword energy spanning thirty thousand miles, it exploded in the minds of every righteous cultivator. 'Bring your "Heavenly Principles" and "Perfection"; come to this abyss and see what true despair is.'
At the edge of the sky, an extremely bright white light pierced the darkness — it was Ye Chen's advanced sword energy, the Saint Son of the Heavenly Gang Sect.
That white light represented perfection, order and nobility, while the blackness represented imperfection, chaos and slaughter.
Xiao Wuchen slowly opened his dual pupils: his left eye blazed with purple light and his right eye glowed blood red. He knew that this was no longer just a life-or-death struggle, but a clash between two ultimate paths: the 'perfection' of following the will of Heaven or the 'broken body' of defying it.
'You've come.' Xiao Wuchen stroked the sword, a cruel yet excited smile playing on his lips.
Ye Chen, the Heavenly Saint Son, stood at one end, clad in pristine white robes with nine great suns floating behind his head. At the other end stood Xiao Wuchen, the Demon Lord, with flowing black hair and dark purple demonic lightning enveloping him. 'Xiao Wuchen, you were just a remnant soul from the mortal realm, yet you dared to defile the purity of the upper realm. Today, I will act on behalf of Heaven.'
Ye Chen closed his eyes slightly and uttered a mantra. The nine suns instantly merged to form a colossal, hundred-zhang-tall "Great Sun Heavenly Dao Dharma Image". This Dharma Image shimmered with golden light and wielded a spear of judgment. Each ray of golden light weighed a thousand jin and pressed down on the Broken Soul Cliff, causing it to crumble inch by inch.
This was the power representing world order and absolute 'perfection' and 'orthodoxy'. 'Acting on behalf of Heaven? That damned Heaven owes me something you can't repay!'
Xiao Wuchen laughed wildly as the demonic energy vortex within him completely reversed. Instead of unleashing his Dharma form, he forcibly compressed his overwhelming hatred and the sword energy stretching 30,000 miles back into his tattered physical body.
'Asura True Body!'
His skin instantly became covered in a layer of fine, dark purple scales and demonic horns like swords grew from both sides of his forehead. His eyes became completely empty black holes. He was no longer relying on demonic energy; he had become the embodiment of all the world's negative emotions.
[Ding! Red light mode critical point broken! The host has forcibly fused with the 'Nine Netherworld Tribulation Sword Embryo', and the physical body's load rate has reached 300%! System judgment: After this battle, the host's physical body will disintegrate. Continue?
'Kill!' Xiao Wuchen's response was only one word.
'Because you were born perfect, you will never understand what it means to tear everything apart in order to survive — the "evil"!'
Xiao Wuchen spat out a mouthful of black blood mixed with fragments of internal organs. Suddenly, the demonic sword in his hand exploded, transforming into countless tiny black sword threads that frantically burrowed into the Holy Son's wound.
The two were inches apart. The Holy Son's palm pressed against Xiao Wuchen's dantian; the power of his golden core devoured demonic energy. Meanwhile, Xiao Wuchen gripped the Holy Son's head tightly with his five fingers; the black energy corroded his golden core.
'In that fleeting moment of incompleteness, I found you.'
Xiao Wuchen revealed a smile that was both tragic and ferocious as he detonated his reforged demonic core. He used himself as a sword furnace to unleash the final move of 'Bloodstained Yellow Springs' — 'All Beings Fall Together'.
Broken Soul Cliff was razed to the ground in that instant.
Golden light and black mist intertwined and soared into the heavens, completely clearing the clouds within a thousand miles. When the dust settled, Ye Chen's sacred body was shattered and his Dao foundation was completely destroyed. Xiao Wuchen lay in a pool of blood; his white hair was growing back and his breath was faint.
But in his hand, he clutched a half-broken golden core that was still radiating a faint warmth.
[Ding! Host has successfully hunted down the 'Chosen One']
[Gained 100% of incomplete Heavenly Dao Luck].
Current status: Life force severed; the system is forcibly taking over the remaining spiritual essence for 'final transformation'.